HRM REVISION NOTES1

I.

Human Resource Management at Work The Management

process involves the following functions: planning, organizing,
staffing, leading, and controlling. The people or personnel
aspects of management jobs involve conducting job analyses;
planning labor needs and recruiting job candidates; selecting job
candidates; orienting and training new employees; managing
wages and salaries; providing incentives and benefits; appraising
performance; communicating; training and developing managers;
building employee commitment; being knowledgeable about equal
opportunity, affirmative action, and employee health and safety;
and handling grievances and labor relations.
A.

Why Is HR Management Important to All Managers?

Managers dont want to make mistakes while managing, such
as hiring the wrong person, having their company taken to court
because of discriminatory actions, or committing unfair labor
practices.

B. Line and Staff Aspects of HRM Although most firms have a

human resource department with its own manager, all managers
tend to get involved in activities like recruiting, interviewing,
selecting, and training.
1. Line Versus Staff Authority Authority is the right to make
decisions, to direct the work of others, and to give orders.
Line managers are authorized to direct the work of
subordinates. Their subordinates are generally involved in
work that directly produces or sells the companys product
or service, like Sales or Manufacturing. Staff managers are
authorized to assist and advise line managers in
accomplishing their basic goals. The subordinates of staff
managers are generally involved in work that supports the
products or services, in departments like Purchasing, or
Quality Control. HR managers are generally staff managers.

2. Line Managers HR Duties Most line managers are

responsible for line functions, coordinative functions, and
some staff functions.
3.

Human Resource Managers Duties Human Resource

Managers also have line, coordinative and staff functions.
However, they exert line authority only within the HR
department. They have implied authority with line
managers due to the fact that they have the ear of top
management on many important issues contributing to
organizational health.

C. Cooperative Line and Staff HR Management: An Example In

recruiting and hiring, its generally the line managers
responsibility to specify the qualifications employees need to
fill specific positions. Then the HR staff takes over. They
develop sources of qualified applicants and conduct initial
screening interviews. They administer appropriate tests, then
refer the best applicants to the supervisor (line manager), who
interviews and selects the ones he/she wants.
D. From Line Manager to HR Manager: Line managers may make
career stopovers in staff HR manager positions.

II.

The Changing Environment of HR Management - Human

Resource responsibilities have become broader and more strategic
over time in response to a number of trends. The role of HR has
evolved from primarily being responsible for hiring, firing, payroll,
and benefits administration to a more strategic role in employee
selection, training and promotion, as well as playing an advisory
role to the organization in areas of labor relations and legal
compliance.
A. Globalization Trends Globalization refers to the tendency of
firms to extend their sales, ownership, and/or manufacturing to
new markets abroad. Globalization of the world economy and
other trends has triggered changes in how companies organize,

manage and use their HR departments. The rate of globalization

continues to be high, and has several strategic implications for
firms. More globalization means more competition, and more
competition means more pressure to lower costs, make
employees more productive, and do things better and less
expensively.
B. Technological Trends Virtual online communities, virtual
design environments and Internet-based distribution systems
have enabled firms to become more competitive. HR faces the
challenge of quickly applying technology to the task of
improving its own operations.
C. Trends in the Nature of Work Jobs are changing due to new
technological demands. Dramatic increases in productivity have
allowed manufacturers to produce more with fewer employees
Nontraditional workers, such as those who hold multiple jobs,
contingent or part-time workers, or people working in
alternative work arrangements, enable employers to keep costs
down.
1. High-Tech Jobs More jobs have gone high tech, requiring
workers to have more education and skills. Even traditional
blue collar jobs require more math, reading, writing and
computer skills than ever before.
2.

Service Jobs Most newly created jobs are and will

continue to be in the service sector.

3.

Human Capital - refers to the knowledge, education,

training, skills, and expertise of a firms workers The HR
function must employ more sophisticated and creative
means to identify, attract, select, train and motivate the
required work force.

D. Workforce Demographic Trends The labor force is getting

older and more multi-ethnic. The aging labor force presents
significant changes in terms of potential labor shortages, and
many firms are instituting new policies aimed at encouraging
aging employees to stay, or at attracting previously retired

employees. Growing numbers of workers with eldercare

responsibilities, and high rates of immigration also present
challenges and opportunities for HR managers.
III.

The Changing Role of HR Management HRs central task is

always to provide a set of services that make sense in terms of
company strategy. Trends of globalization, technology, nature of
work and workforce demographics have implications for how
companies now organize, manage, and rely on their HR operations.
HR managers must partner with top managers to design and
implement company strategies.
The focus on operational
improvements means that all managers must be more adept at
expressing their departmental plans and accomplishments in
measurable terms.
A.

Strategic HRM Management expects HR to provide

measurable, benchmark-based evidence for its current
efficiency and effectiveness, and for the expected efficiency and
effectiveness of new or proposed HR programs. Management
expects solid, quantified evidence that HR is contributing in a
meaningful and positive way to achieving the firms strategic
aims.

B. Creating High Performance Work Systems (HPWS) HR can

impact organizational performance in 3 ways: through the use
of technology, through effective HR practices and by instituting
HPWS to maximize the competencies and abilities of
employees throughout the organization.
1.

Managing with Technology Internet and computer based

systems are improving productivity. Additionally, many HR
tasks (payroll, reference checks, wellness programs, etc.)
are being outsourced to specialist service providers.

2,

Effective HR Practices Pre-employment personality

testing and increased training are just two HR practices that
can produce employees who perform better.

3.

High Performance Work Systems Employment security,

selective hiring, extensive training, self managed team and

decentralized decision making, fewer status distinctions,

information sharing, contingent rewards, transformational
leadership, measurement of management practices and
emphasis on high-quality work are all vital to HPWS.
Implementation of such practices often results in surprising
benefits.
C. Measuring the HR Management Teams Performance - HR
managers need a set of quantitative performance measures
(metrics) they can use to assess their operations. These metrics
allow managers to measure their HR units efficiency.
D. Managing With the HR Scorecard The HR Scorecard is a
concise measurement system, showing quantitative standards or
metrics used to measure HR activities, employee behaviors
resulting from these activities, and to measure the strategically
relevant organizational outcomes of those employee behaviors.
The scorecard highlights the causal link between HR activities,
emergent employee behaviors, and the resulting firm-wide
strategic outcomes and performance.

IV.

The HR Managers Proficiencies

A Four proficiencies are required of the HR Manager today in:
human resources, business, leadership, and learning.
B HR Certification through the Society of Human Resource
Management has become increasingly important as human
resource management is becoming more professionalized.
Certifications of PHR (Professional in HR) and SPHR (Senior
Professional in HR) are earned by those who successfully
complete all the requirements of the certification program.
C. Managing Within the Law is increasingly important as a
growing web of HR related laws effects virtually every HR
decision. Equal employment laws, occupational safety and
health laws, and labor laws are among the areas in which HR

professionals

need

to

be

knowledgeable.

D. Managing Ethics has gained increasing exposure as a result

of ethical lapses in corporate behavior. Ethics needs to play a
bigger role in managers decisions. The Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX)
Act was passed in 2003 to ensure that management takes these
responsibilities seriously. HR has an important role in
promoting ethical behavior at work which will be explored
more fully later in the text.

1. Explain what HR management is and how it relates to the management

process. There are five basic functions that all managers perform: planning,
organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling. HR management involves the
policies and practices needed to carry out the staffing (or people) function of
management. HR management helps the management process avoid mistakes
and to get results.
2. Give examples of how HR management concepts and techniques can be of
use to all managers. HR management concepts and techniques can help all
managers to ensure that they get results--through others. These concepts and
techniques also help you to avoid common personnel mistakes such as: hiring
the wrong person; experiencing high turnover; finding your people not doing
their best; wasting time with useless interviews; having your company taken to
court because of discriminatory actions; having your company cited under
federal occupational safety laws for unsafe practices; have some employees
think their salaries are unfair and inequitable relative to others in the
organization; allow a lack of training to undermine your departments
effectiveness, and commit any unfair labor practices.
3. Illustrate the HR responsibilities of line and staff managers. Line managers
are someone's boss; they direct the work of subordinates in pursuit of
accomplishing the organization's basic goals. Some examples of the HR
responsibilities of line managers are: placing the right person on the job;
starting new employees in the organization (orientation); training employees for
jobs that are new to them; improving the job performance of each person;
gaining creative cooperation and developing smooth working relationships;
interpreting the companys policies and procedures; controlling labor costs;

developing the abilities of each person; creating and maintaining department

morale; and protecting employees health and physical conditions. Staff
managers assist and advise line managers in accomplishing these basic goals.
They do, however, need to work in partnership with each other to be successful.
Some examples of the HR responsibilities of staff managers include assistance
in hiring, training, evaluating, rewarding, counseling, promoting, and firing of
employees, and the administering of various benefits programs.
4. Why is it important for a company to make its human resources into a
competitive advantage? How can HR contribute to doing so? Building and
maintaining a competitive advantage is what allows a company to be
successful, and to remain profitable and in business. HR can make a critical
contribution to the competitive advantage of a company by building the
organizational climate and structure that allows the company to tap its special
skills or core competencies and rapidly respond to customers' needs and
competitors' moves.